A fan has bid more than £10,000 to spend the afternoon with multi-platinum pop star and X-Factor winner Leona Lewis in a fundraising auction for Oxfam’s Haiti earthquake response.
The auction, attracting 170 bids on eBay, raised almost £12,000 in total, which would be enough to buy lifesaving equipment such as hygiene kits for 1,200 families or basic latrines for 9,600 people.
Leona said:
“The response to the auction was just incredible. Oxfam do amazing work, and I’m delighted to have done my bit to help them save lives in Haiti. I can’t wait to meet the winner and spend the afternoon with them, and would like to thank everyone who put in a bid for their support.”
The final bid for an afternoon with Leona was £10,520, while the other items in the auction were:
– A haircut & style by Leona Lewis’ hairstylist Ben Cooke (winning bid £405)
– A lesson from Leona Lewis’ make-up artist Jane Bradley (£230)
– A signed presentation disc & goody bag from Leona Lewis (£720)
The auction follows on from a host of stars who auctioned must-have items to raise money for Oxfam’s Haiti appeal during January. The auction, co-organised with Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis, raised more than £120,000 in just two weeks.
A print donated by controversial British artist Damien Hirst was the auction’s biggest success, raising £12,655, while an oil painting by Rolf Harris fetched £12,607.
Other items that were sold as part of the auction included a signed ‘Viva La Vida’ tour jacket from Coldplay, VIP tickets to this year’s Glastonbury festival, and a song to be written personally for a bidder by Damon Albarn.
The auction result comes as Oxfam was able to announce that its humanitarian Haiti earthquake appeal has now closed due to the overwhelming generosity of the public.
In the UK, Oxfam has received £15m for its emergency work in Haiti, with donations received from the public, governments and institutional donors across the world. The aid agency now has enough money to fund its work in Haiti for the next 3-5 years.
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Notes to editors
For more information, images, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Stuart Fowkes | 01865 472254 | 07818 406038 | [email protected]
For more information on Oxfam’s response in Haiti, please contact:
Rebecca Wynn | [email protected] | 07769 887139
Ian Bray | [email protected] | 07721 461339